Miami Open Preview

With the Indian Wells postponed due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, the ATP Masters 1000 tour kicks off with the Miami Open. The tournament is set to be a historic event as it marks the first time since 2004 that Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Rafael Nadal have not competed in a Masters 1000 tournament. While Federer and Nadal are still recovering from injuries, Djokovic has opted against coming to Miami due to the various Covid-19 restrictions and to spend more time with his family.

The Big Three have shared 99 Masters titles between them and 14 of the last 15 Grand Slams and will certainly be a big miss in Miami. However, their absence allows the next generation of players who will take their place at the top of the seedings to grab the spotlight and make a charge for the title. The main draw for the competition started on Wednesday and here the major contenders for the men’s singles title.

Daniil Medvedev

The Australian Open finalist is fresh off a victory in Marseille and is the top seed in the tournament and favourite to take the title. The world Number two starts the tournament against Yen-Hsun Lu and has a relatively simple route to the semi-final stage, where his toughest competition could be the 7th seed Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-finals.

Alexander Zverev

Like Medvedev, Zverev is also coming off a win in the recently concluded Mexican Open where he didn’t drop a single set and is looking to add a fourth Masters 1000 title to his name. Zverev hasn’t won a Masters 1000 title in almost three years and this would be the perfect opportunity to do so given the lack of opposition.

Zverev previously lost the Miami Open final to John Isner in 2018 and has a good chance to at least match that record this year given that he is the favourite to reach the semi-finals from his quarter.

Andrey Rublev

Andrey Rublev kicks off his Miami Open with a tie against Tennys Sandgren in the first round and will be looking to win his first Masters 1000 title at this event. The number four seed will need to beat either Alexander Zverev or Daniil Medvedev for the first time in his singles career in the final to take his maiden crown.

Stefanos Tsitsipas

Stefanos Tsitsipas will be looking to shrug off his defeat in the final at Acapulco against Alexander Zverev and claim his first Masters 1000 title in Miami. Tsitsipas has had a strong 2021 where he beat Rafael Nadal in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and is the 2nd seed in this tournament. Tsitsipas has a tricky run to the semi-final stage in Miami where he could be up against 28th seed Kei Nishikori in the third round and Dennis Shapovalov in the quarter-finals who beat Tsitsipas in this very tournament two years ago.